The Latest Excuse for Kamala’s Loss: Fear of ‘Gun Violence’

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To measure fears of harassment and violence, researchers asked respondents how likely they thought it was to experience events ranging from verbal or written harassment to property damage and acts of physical violence. While all gender groups provided average responses of “somewhat unlikely” across all five, gender-nonconforming respondents had a higher expected likelihood of harassment or violence. 

Overall, 91 percent of men, 89 percent of women and 73 percent of gender-nonconforming respondents said in the post-election survey that they felt safe voting. But respondents’ perceptions and feelings of safety varied by race among women and gender-nonconforming people. In the post-election survey, 92 percent of White respondents said they felt completely or mostly safe voting, compared with 85 percent of Black voters and 84 percent of Hispanic voters.

In pre-election surveys, women and voters of color were more likely than men and White respondents to view voting as unsafe and to say they were taking precautions as a result. Among women, the most common safety precaution respondents said they were likely to take was not bringing their children to the polls (32 percent), while the most common safety precaution for gender-nonconforming people was not interacting with others at the polls (46 percent). About a quarter of women and gender-nonconforming respondents said they were likely to vote by mail.   

Several women voters in focus groups cited the potential of gun violence as a concern. 

“I don’t go to the polls, because you never know what you will encounter there,” said a White independent woman voter who participated in one of the focus groups. “It seems like everybody in Arizona has a gun. We vote by mail, because it’s safer. Everybody has an opinion; you get in line, and you hear it all. You never know, if they don’t agree with you, they’ll shoot you. People are crazy.”

— Grace Panetta in Political tension and fears of violence may have depressed voter turnout in 2024

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3 thoughts on “The Latest Excuse for Kamala’s Loss: Fear of ‘Gun Violence’”

  1. These people are always afraid all the time. Nothing can help them. Except maybe turning the TV off.

    1. And they call us the fearful ones because we carry guns. I carry a gun and I’m not scared because I’m prepared. Their fear is self-inflicted. They genuinely think there are roving MAGA gangs that are going to make them wave Israeli flags and make them detransition at gunpoint.

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